Ignorance: a mineral cannot arise from materials that were once part of a living thing Crystal: the repeating pattern of a mineral 's particles form a solid Element: a substance composed of a single kind of atom Compound: two or more elements are combined so that the elements no longer have a distinct properties Mohs hardness scale: this scale ranks minerals from softest to hardest Streak: a mineral that is the color of its powder Cleavage: a mineral that splits easily along flat surfaces Fracture: describes how a mineral looks when it breaks apart in an irregular way Flourescence: minerals that glow ultraviolet light Mineral: has to be naturally occured, inorganic solid that has crystal structure, and chemical composition
Outline
What is a Mineral?
naturally occurring
to be called a mineral, it has to be naturally occurring
cement,brick,steel and glass are not classified as minerals because they can be found in Earth's crust
inorganic
coal naturally forms in the crust
geologists don't classify coal as an mineral
it is made up from remains of plants from the past and animals from a long time ago
solid
a mineral is always a solid and has a definite volume
the particles that make up a solid cannot flow freely
it is packed really tight unlike liquids
a solid keeps its shape
crystal structure
the particles of a mineral line up in a pattern that repeats over and over again
sometimes you can see the crystal structure by itself
you have to look under a microscope on to see the crystal structure on some of them
definite chemical composition
it contains certain elements in certain proportion
all the atoms of the of the same elements have the same physical property and chemical
Identifying Minerals
every mineral has specific properties to identify it
hardness
to find the hardness, you should scratch the mineral to another mineral
color
on some minerals you can identify the color by its physical property
some minerals have colors that does not match the mineral
streak
you can observe streak by rubbing the mineral by rubbing it against a tile
the tile is called a streak plate
luster
minerals that contains metals are shiny
there are several other names for luster
names: earthy, waxy, and pearly
density
one way to identify the weight of a mineral is to feel it with your hands
using your hands with your weight is a rough measure of density
geologists use a balance to measure the density
it is also put into the water to identify how much water it displaces
dividing the sample's mass by its volume gives the density of the mineral
crystal systems
the crystals of each mineral grow atom by atom to form the mineral's crystal shape
geologists identify these minerals into six groups
crystals that grow in open space can almost form perfectly
crystals that grow in small space are often incompletely formed
cleavage and fracture
whether a mineral has cleavage, it all depends on how the atom in the crystal is arranged
geologists use a lot of different terms to describe fracture
Table of Contents
4.1 Properties of Minerals
Vocabulary
Ignorance: a mineral cannot arise from materials that were once part of a living thing
Crystal: the repeating pattern of a mineral 's particles form a solid
Element: a substance composed of a single kind of atom
Compound: two or more elements are combined so that the elements no longer have a distinct properties
Mohs hardness scale: this scale ranks minerals from softest to hardest
Streak: a mineral that is the color of its powder
Cleavage: a mineral that splits easily along flat surfaces
Fracture: describes how a mineral looks when it breaks apart in an irregular way
Flourescence: minerals that glow ultraviolet light
Mineral: has to be naturally occured, inorganic solid that has crystal structure, and chemical composition
Outline
Diagram